Beth Dunlap Case: Judge Denies Request To Change Bond Amount

DOWNERS GROVE, IL -- A judge has denied a request to lower bail that was made by a Naperville man charged with diving under the influence and reckless homicide in the death of Downers Grove junior Beth Dunlap, 17. An attorney for Joseph Kucharski, 51, made the request Friday as part of an attempt to bond Kucharski out of jail, Chicago Tribune reports.

Kucharski, who has been held in DuPage County Jail since late February, is accused of having a BAC of .031 when he hit Dunlap with his car as she crossed Main Street outside of Downers Grove North High School on Feb. 19. Police say Dunlap was in the crosswalk and had a "walk" signal when she was struck.

After Dunlap died from injuries sustained in the crash, the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office upgraded Kucharski's charges from aggravated DUI and reckless driving to aggravated DUI and reckless homicide.

On Friday, Kucharski's legal team asked Judge Liam Brennan to permit Kucharski to use a $200,000 rental property he owns to bond out and enroll in an in-patient drug treatment facility. That request was denied on the grounds that property must be twice the amount of bail to be used for bond.

Kucharski's property would have had to have been worth $1.5 million for the court to permit the request, Chicago Tribune reports.

After the initial request to use property for bail was denied, Kucharski's attorney reportedly asked the judge to up bail to a $100,000 cash bond, which Brennan also denied.

Kucharski is set to appear in court again on March 15.

Read more via Chicago Tribune.